Category:Center Square Comfort Stations, Allentown, Pennsylvania

Formerly located on the southeast corner of Center Square, the Comfort Stations are a legacy of the early 20th Century when most stores in the Central Business District did not offer public rest rooms.

Established in 1919 by the Allentown's city engineer, Harry F. Bascom, they were underground facilities with public attended rest rooms. The Comfort Stations also provided showers for men and bath facilities for women, along with a small store and a shoe shine stand up through World War II. Music was initially provided by a record player, later a radio. By the 1960s, the facilities were simplified to public rest rooms and closed in 1963 by the Board of Health. Re-opened in 1965 by request of the Downtown Merchants, they were finally closed for good in 1972 as part of the Hamilton Mall renovation of Center Square.

Still accessible, they later became refuges for the homeless for several years. With the construction of the Hamilton Financial Center in 1983, they were either removed or sealed permanently.